Chapter 5 Act IV To the Maelstrom of Chaos

Giselle Anderbülkulin is climbing a steep hill alone. I have to climb up this almost vertical hill, and the hill I am climbing now is very soft.It is almost like bread when pinched, it is extremely soft and elastic, it can gently bounce off the pressure of fingers, and there is a tender and moist feeling from the palm. "Well...Giselle...kind of..." There was a voice from the top of the mountain.You have to climb up quickly.Falling means death.It was necessary to make persistent efforts, the boy stretched out his hand again, and headed towards the top of the mountain.There was darkness ahead and nothing could be seen.But he was still able to move forward with the extraordinarily reassuring touch in his palm.Smooth as fine silk.This gentleness wrapped around the palm as if trying to stop the progress.However, the end is near.

In the end, the fingers finally reached the lush and moist shore. "Ah... Giselle... um... stop..." Cross the desert to reach the oasis. I finally got out of the Sanchuan River. Accompanied by a sense of accomplishment, Giselle Anderbürklin opened her eyes. The hazy consciousness finally woke up. I seemed to be lying sideways, and my confused brain began to confirm the situation.The back of the head seems to rest on a high-quality soft pillow.I rubbed my face against it, and it felt very comfortable.The teenager couldn't help pinching the pillow with his hands like a child.The touch is really good, Giselle groaned in enjoyment, immersed in the touch from the palm of her hand.

then-- Gisele blinked a few times.He finally understood what he was sleeping on.What appeared in front of her eyes was a delicately tailored skirt, under which were curvaceous white thighs.And my own hand is now inserted into the darkness between the skirt and thigh... "I said...Giselle...I have normal shame too...so you should probably get up quickly—" "Wow wow wow...!" The young man groaned and jumped up.Sit on the ground and move back and forth.I saw that Amyla was also sitting upright, and it seemed that he used her knees as a pillow. The black-haired girl still had an indifferent expression on her face, but her eyebrows were still furrowed unhappily, and her face was also slightly flushed.

"You seem to have finally woken up." "No, that, really, I didn't mean it." Giselle hurriedly defended, clasping his hands together and begging for mercy. "Actually, I accidentally fell asleep, and my consciousness is still fuzzy. And, how should I put it, it's so smooth and comfortable—what am I talking about!" Giselle bowed her head. "No, it's okay. After all, you passed out." Amelia said with downcast eyes, her eyebrows hiding her mournful eyes.She seems to have adjusted the hem of the skirt to cover her bare thighs. "That... how long have I been sleeping..."

"Less than half a moment. Anyway, it's not long, so your injury is okay?" "hurt……" Hearing this sentence, Giselle suddenly fell down, and only then did he feel pain. There was intense pain in his back.The boy touched his body with his hand to confirm the injury.Then try to stand up and move around.It seems that there is no fracture at all, which is simply a miracle, but—— "it hurts……" Giselle moaned from the stabbing pain in his back, and he couldn't stand still, so he had to sit down. "Perhaps the angle of the blow was more coincidental. It doesn't seem to be seriously injured. But you'd better not be too forceful."

"Well... yes, it seems that you are right." Giselle slumped on the ground and smiled. Amyra looked at the smiling teenager and sighed deeply. "You're such an idiot. I don't think you're fit to be an adventurer at all." "You, you are too straightforward, and you directly told me such a cruel fact..." "Really?" The girl tilted her head in disbelief. "If you don't come to protect me, you won't be injured. And I have much more experience than you, that kind of attack... I can dodge it casually." "Really... Haha, maybe it's true."

"It was the same last night. You dared to provoke the mercenary recklessly. If I hadn't thrown the throwing knife, you would have died long ago. You are obviously weak, so how could you come to help without even thinking about it?" "Well, let me tell you... you're too forceful when you say that. I didn't have time to think at all. I also rushed up unconsciously just now, right... After all, you are a girl." Giselle racked her brains for excuses. In fact, before even myself could react, my body acted.It must have been the urge to help her that overwhelmed the fear.

"I—" After a pause, the girl quietly turned her face and whispered. "It's still very different from ordinary girls." Under the slender eyelashes, the eyes flickered hesitantly, which made people feel lonely. That's why, Gisele said without thinking. "Really? I think Amy is just an ordinary girl." If there is something special about it, it must be something like being stronger than yourself. However, the girl frowned and stared at Giselle in displeasure. "You speak as if you understand me very well." There seemed to be a definite hostility in her eyes.

The surrounding air froze quickly, and the scene was shrouded in awkward silence—— What broke the awkward silence was—beck—a strange sound of footsteps. Giselle turned her head away. A warrior in different clothes walked over from the abandoned church.Her wonderful steps are very elegant, without any superfluous movements, very refined. Oriental swordsman.Giselle recalled her hazy memory, remembering that she cut off the clay doll when she was about to faint. "No, it's dark inside and you can't see anything, it must be some kind of magic—" That's when she noticed Giselle was awake and stepped forward.

"How is your injury?" Giselle looked up at her. Probably in his early twenties. Her eyes were slightly squinted as if she was tired, and there was a sense of sadness in her black eyes, giving people a strong impression of a cold and beautiful woman.Her black hair was tied back on the back of her head, with horns hanging down her cheeks on both sides of her forehead, her eye bags were whitewashed with tear lines, she looked a bit like an exotic actress.This is the first time that Giselle has seen Dongyang people with her own eyes. "Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be a serious injury," Giselle said, then managed to stand up. "Thank you very much for your rescue. My name is Giselle."

"My name is Sakurako." The foreign samurai held out his hand to Giselle. "I should thank you. You seem to have helped Amyra a lot. Thank you very much." After a little chat, you can find that the coldness is only limited to appearance.Her tone was very kind, and this incredible beauty even wanted people to continue talking with her.Her diction is also very fluent, and it feels like she is talking to someone from the Seven Kingdoms. "However, it doesn't feel like I'm of much use..." After Giselle finished speaking, she shook hands with Sakurako. "That's just her bragging rights, you don't need to pay too much attention to it." I saw the girl——Amila looking at this side with some dissatisfaction. "I didn't try to be brave. For an enemy of that level, I alone is enough. And it's mainly because the weapon is ineffective—" "Okay, okay." Papa, Yingzi interrupted her words by clapping her hands, and continued. "When I first arrived, there was a crying face with a face full of despair. What kind of person is that? You are still crying with red eyes, saying that you killed him or something—" "I, I didn't cry." Giselle couldn't help but look at the girl who retorted—— Obviously not drinking water, Giselle suddenly choked. Because he noticed something hanging on the girl's lap. It seemed that the warriors from other countries had also noticed, and her aloof expression also changed suddenly. "Amila, you, you, you, what's going on with you!" "What's wrong?" The girl frowned in surprise, and looked down at her feet following the gaze of the two of them. Boom, Bai Jiu's cheeks flushed rapidly, Giselle noticed it. "Young man, turn your head away!" "Wow." Sakurako grabs Giselle by the shoulder and forces him to turn right.Then panicked footsteps were heard. "I said, Amyra, what have you been done to?" "Wait, Sakura, stop!" "This, this is, what should I do. Let me see, is this..." "Stop it, it's so itchy...!" "I thought it would be fine if I tied it up, but it doesn't seem that simple, so that's it..." "Wait, don't roll it up! Ah, I, I want, I'm suffocating...!" "Ah, then there is no other way. Then if you don't do anything, you will have no way out anyway." "No, otherwise my ass will be... just let me go!" Anyway, a somewhat disturbing conversation started next to it. The young man had the urge to turn his head, and at the same time secretly laughed in his heart. Emira is truly an incredible girl. She looks like a cold girl who doesn't show any emotion at all, but sometimes she feels shy like girls her age.Because of such a cute contrast, the teenager is deeply attracted by her inner nature. In the end, what kind of past created her now—— * The giant man in the church has disappeared.Sakurako confirmed it and found that he seemed to have smashed the window and escaped. Giselle Anderbürklin knelt in the center of the magic circle. This complex figure drawn in white ink on the floor has an extremely profane taste.The boy wrote down some words with important meanings in the magic circle on the parchment. "There seems to be a serious burn mark in the center. It seems that the sacrifice was burnt to death here." "That's right." Amyra also nodded.She was standing aside watching the magic circle, and now she has recovered her calm expression. "When I peeked through the window, I also saw a woman hanging in the middle..." Recalling the scene at that time, she frowned. "And he was still hanging upside down with his feet tied." Giselle looked at the ceiling. If the rope was passed through the beam, it should be possible to hang the sacrifice in the middle of the magic circle—— "They're really cruel." "At that time, there was also a man in a black coat—probably, he was a 'zealot', and that man had been chanting a speech. Then the woman in the 'guillotine' found me, and the ceremony was temporarily suspended, that I don't know what happened to the person afterwards." The sacrifice is most likely Renalia.If only she was alive— "Why, kill it in that way?" Sakurako asked.The foreign samurai sat on a tattered chair and looked at this side quietly.Giselle gathered her thoughts and answered her question. "Probably, this has some meaning in magic. But what is the meaning of hanging the sacrifice upside down... Besides, all the corpses so far have had their heads burned. Maybe it's just that there is something hidden in the act of burning the head. kind of meaning, so—” Giselle fiddled with the marks on the magic circle with her fingers, and fell into deep thought for a while.What reappears in the brain is the symbol of "negation".Giselle kept thinking about the meaning of it—— "Negating existence...negating containers? How would that work in magic?" "Zanists" kidnap young girls, hang them up, and deny their existence.He burned his head to negate the vessel.The human face—that is, the head, is the most distinctive part of each person.Use the demeaning and profane act of burning the head to explain the meaning of denying existence—— "Is this what the demons are after? Based on these, I still can't figure out their purpose..." "Yeah, until now I still can't figure out what the purpose of the 'fanatic' is. If you can understand it, maybe you can discover the true face of that guy." Amyra's accusation is very correct. Demon worshipers want to perform this ritual for a wish. Yes, the ceremony is still going on.The bodies of three victims have now been found.If you add the sacrificial women that Amyra saw, there are four people.Perhaps there were sacrifices other than those thrown into the river.I'm afraid this wicked ritual is still going on, and it's not over at all—— "I'm afraid they will continue to arrest people..." "Is there any pattern? Is there anything else in common besides young women? If you know, maybe you can strike first." common ground.The boy is also thinking about this now—— "There are also magic words for the purity of filth. You see, here it is." Giselle looked up and pointed at the suspicious part.Immediately after seeing the scene that caught the eye, his face felt a little hot.I saw Amyra kneeling on one knee and observing the magic circle.Under the skirt of the short skirt, the silky and white thigh curve can be seen at a glance.Giselle immediately averted her eyes and continued to explain.Amyra raised her eyebrows in disbelief, then looked at the devil's graffiti on the floor. "That... is near this mark, and it represents the material that the devil desires. Most of the words of purity refer to girls. And it is also familiar that girls become sacrifices for demon magic. But here is the purity of filth, but this The meaning itself is contradictory." Looking to the side, he met the girl's eyes.Amyla avoided Giselle's eyes, her expression was a little restless, and she pulled and straightened her skirt in embarrassment. "The filthy purity... Literally, it's the blood of a girl who has lost her virginity, right?" Sakurako said in surprise. "This demon really has a strong taste." "Let's not mention it for the time being... Well, maybe that's what it means. They specially contact the victim through the 'Favorite', which is also for some kind of screening. They approach the target with a friendly face, In this way, it can be confirmed whether the target meets the conditions. If there are no conditions, it is enough to directly attack and kidnap the young girl. After all, there are many opponents, so it is easier to do so. So there must be certain conditions for the sacrifice.” Moreover, they must have also taken advantage of a characteristic of the "Favorite of the Father".Because the people who come into contact with charities are socially disadvantaged groups, they are likely to be alone.Even if it goes missing, no one will look for it, and it is almost impossible for the incident to be exposed.This is also done to avoid rumors of kidnapping and disappearances.Perhaps this is the purpose of burning the head?Burning the head doesn't make sense in magic, maybe just to make it impossible to identify the victim— "By the way, what's the result of tracking the footprints?" Giselle raised her head and asked after completing the copying of the magic circle.While the boy was analyzing the magic circle, Emira and Sakurako traced the footprints outside the abandoned church together. "Because there are a lot of them, they can still be tracked. But after they passed through the woods, they entered the underground waterway directly. So the footprints stopped abruptly there." "Underground waterway..." There are several layers of huge underground relics built in ancient times in the underground of Fei Li King's Capital. People call it "smart scars".There are still many unexplored areas in this complex deep labyrinth, so there are still many unsolved mysteries.During the turbulent period after the end of the ancient era, some small countries established their states here, using the relatively shallow areas as sewers and underground waterways.However, even if it is a shallow layer, it is still no different from a maze. This place has become a lair for villains who have not seen the sun. It is one of the most dangerous places in the capital. "They escaped to such a tricky place..." "You continue to look for clues from magic. I hope you can find out their purpose and investigate the conditions that the sacrifice must meet." "Okay... so what do you do?" "I'm going to investigate 'The Greatest Favor'. After all, I am more suitable than you in this regard." "Well, indeed, you are right..." "Amyra—" Sakurako sighed. She stood up and walked over steadily.The clogs, shaped like slippers, make a unique sound. "Enough is enough. Why do you think I'm here?" The girl who heard the question looked at Yingzi with some dissatisfaction. "Go back. Someone entrusted us to solve the commotion of the 'zealots'. You have absolutely no reason to get involved in it." "How is it possible, there is no reason." Amyra bit her lip and stared at the foreign warrior. "Of course I have a reason, and that is to track down those guys. No matter what you say, I will chase those guys to the ends of the earth." Hearing the girl's determined words from the bottom of her heart and seeing her unyielding scorching eyes, Sakurako just calmly dissuaded her. "Even if this runs counter to their last wishes—won't you give up?" That short sentence immediately left the girl speechless. Faced with this delicate atmosphere that made people breathless, the boy could only wait and watch in silence. "This……" "We have nothing to do with them. You don't need to continue to follow them. We have already made an appointment like this. Alright, let's go back to the 'Green Sun Pavilion'." "but……" The foreign warrior turned around to leave the abandoned church, the girl said to her back. "Sakura, don't you regret it..." "Of course I regret it." The foreign warrior turned his face and replied. "However, what if you die because of this. This incident is also related to them--before I arrived at the church, you were defeated by the puppet of the 'Guillotine'. What can you do like this? ?” "This……" "Listen, I will never help again. Got it, go back." Sakurako announced coldly. The foreign warrior left the abandoned church after speaking. "I said, that..." The boy, who couldn't find a chance to interrupt, spoke to the girl who was drooping her shoulders in pain. Amyra turned her head, still with a stern and beautiful face—— Seems refreshed, she said to Gisele. "It's okay. I'm going to investigate the 'Grandpa's Favorite'. Let's meet up later." * If he returns to the academy, he should be able to understand the meaning of the magic circle to some extent.Although there are not many magicians who specialize in chaos magic, it is not entirely absent, and the senior sister is also very proficient in knowledge about demons and demonic arts because of her work.However, before returning to the academy, Giselle made a trip to King's Square.Because he has already made an appointment with Miria Albert to meet here to report on the progress of the investigation.but-- A long time has passed since the meeting, but Miria Albert did not show up. (Could it be that you haven't gotten off work yet...? It's already been a quarter of an hour.) Giselle sat on the bench talking with the girl, watching the flow of people coming and going in the capital. In the distance came the chime of church bells.Two quarters, three quarters, time flows slowly—— In the blink of an eye, an hour has passed since the appointed time. There was no sign of the girl showing up at all. Let's go back to school first. Generally speaking, it's probably because she can't get off work yet.However, there was a strange uneasiness in Giselle's heart.Renalia was taken away by the "Zanist", so wouldn't Milia also be the target—— Although this is unfounded thinking, but the realization of this makes people start to fidget. The boy made up his mind and left the square.He went directly to the countryside along the river, and he came to the laundry room where the laundrymen were assigned work, but—— (Nobody knows her...?) No matter how much I asked, I couldn't find a laundryman who knew her.Did I mess up the laundry room by myself, or— (Because it is a half-demon, so it will be kept secret from the outside world, right...?) When it was said that they were looking for a half-demon laundryman named Miria Albert, none of the women had a good face, and they clamored, "We can't work with the fallen!" What was going on, Giselle was very confused, he decided to go to the poor street to see. Perhaps she has gone home. The brick and tile dormitory looked like it could be knocked down at the slightest push, and the vine-covered walls were badly decayed.Giselle walked into the house and asked a dirty man who was drinking wine by the stairs. "Well, I'm looking for the room where Sister Albert lives. Excuse me..." "Sister Albert?" The man raised his coal-stained face and straightened his dirty hat. "I don't know, which sister are you talking about?" "Renalia Albert, and Miria Albert. I have something to do with them, but I don't know which room they live in..." "Ah, you said Renalia... is that fallen person, right?" The man scratched his head and said, patting his dandruff. "I haven't seen her these days, but what does sister mean?" "There should be a younger sister, right?" Giselle raised her eyebrows in surprise. "No." But the man shook his head. "She lives alone. Never heard of her having a sister." "Which room does she live in?" Giselle felt an inexplicable anxiety and asked impatiently. "Room No. 2 on the second floor." The boy immediately thanked him and rushed upstairs. Arrived in a locked room. Because the structure of the lock is very simple, Giselle opened it directly with magic. When I opened the door, I saw a very narrow room inside. The only decent furniture is... a narrow bed and a storage cabinet, and a tattered table that is almost abandoned, and there are a few pieces of parchment on the table.The sunroof was left open.There was only one bed. It doesn't look like there are two people living in this place at all... "what happened……" The boy looked at the room in surprise. Since she doesn't live here, who is the person who claims to be Renalia's younger sister—Millia Albert? Giselle looked at the parchment, but there were only a few poems written on it, nothing that could be a clue at all.There are only some clothes in the storage cabinet, and a few spare strings for stringed instruments. "Milia Albert... who are you?" The boy sat on the bed in astonishment. I feel like I'm in a vortex of chaos right now.Looking back, you will find that neither the owner of the "Bear Washing Pavilion" nor Meltina knew that Renalia had a younger sister.So, doesn't this mean that her sister doesn't exist at all?If so, who is Milia Albert?Why did she lie to herself and entrust herself to find her sister—— Thinking of this, the boy took out something from his arms. A silver pendant, this is another reward Miria gave herself. Gisele hadn't intended to accept this.But the girl said that this would cover the cost of rescuing her sister, so she forced it into Giselle's hands.Giselle originally planned to return it to the girl after completing the request—— The pendant that the half-demon girl was holding seemed to be quite an expensive luxury indeed. Giselle ran her fingers over the silver pendant. "There... there should be something in it." Gisele pried open the locket with her fingers. There were no photos or anything like that in it.It was completely empty.But there is a coat of arms engraved on the inside.Giselle didn't know about heraldry, only that it seemed to be a family crest.The inside of the cover is also engraved with the initials of LG. "I remember she said it was my mother's relic..." Giselle's thoughts fell into chaos.I don't know what to believe in myself. What should I do by myself? The boy left the room and went to the poor street.He slumped his shoulders in bewilderment. Then, when he had just returned to the crowded downtown area, he heard that—— "Fourth body! A fourth body has been found! 'The Zealot' has appeared again!" The yelling of the reporters shook Giselle's heart violently. Giselle raised her head in astonishment, and the people passing by on the road were all talking about it.Gentlemen in hats, maidens dressed as poets, servants of some great house—they were all discussing the latest corpse.It seemed to be found in the river soon, not even a day after being killed.If that's the case, it should be possible to identify him this time.After all, the body had not been soaked in river water for a long time, so the corruption should not be serious.Do you want to ask? The reporter seems to have written it down triumphantly, saying that the victim seems to be a poet.Although the head was burned, there were calluses on the fingertips unique to those who play stringed instruments—— * Here is the corner of a dark room. In this dark space without a ray of light, only a flickering candle dispels the gloom. This is the underground library of the academy that looks like an ancient city.At one table, Gabrielle Haggis, the white magician, flips through stacks of books.This unique musty smell irritated the boy's nasal cavity. The senior sister untied the rope of one of the books, and said while unfolding the old parchment. "That's it. It's a demonic art that summons the leader of Orkissos." Giselle stared blankly at the parchment that the senior sister held in front of her. "What's wrong?" Seeing the absent-minded boy, Gabrielle asked in surprise. "Ah, nothing." Giselle shook her head lightly. "That... you say the leader... isn't that bad." Demons are also divided into classes.The commanding species that command the family are the most powerful and terrifying existences, and they are veritable pure demons in the legend.Magicians in ancient centuries would sort and classify the families they command according to the lower species and the upper species.It is said that the greater the power these outsiders have, the harder it is to interfere with our world.Therefore, the demons that I actually saw were almost all inferior species. After all, the stronger the power, the harder it was to obtain a physical body, and the examples of direct and successful physical interference were even rarer. "The purpose of Orkissos must be to obtain a body, right? It is unheard of for a leader to obtain a body by himself. Even if the summoned one is a superior species, it may cause huge casualties. In any case, the ceremony must be stopped—" Magicians refer to demons who gain physical bodies and appear in the world as "devil gods".Even the demon gods of the lower species have enormous power, if they appear directly in the city, it will cause immeasurable impact. "The demon's purpose is known, but what is the purpose of the 'zealot' performing the ritual?" Because the essence of the devil is trading. They confuse human beings on the grounds that they can help people realize their wishes, so human beings become servants of demons. "It is said that Orchisos is in charge of sculpture." "sculpture?" The knowledgeable senior sister nodded. While being a devout Holy Cross believer, she also has a wealth of magical knowledge, and now she serves as an inquisitor at the temple.She often has to deal with demons and demonic related events, so Gabrielle Haggis can be said to know this kind of knowledge very well. "It is in charge of appearance. According to the records of ancient centuries, it can grant human beings eternal beauty, turn men into women, and transform boulders into large amounts of gold, etc. It can do it. Everything in the world, it can change it The result that adults wish for. I'm afraid, the wish of 'fanatics' is of this kind." The senior sister unfolded the parchment of the magic circle copied by Giselle and placed it on the table. The flame of a three-pronged candlestick illuminates this profane figure. "Based on the Roman text, this symbol expresses the negation of the appearance. The burning of the head of the sacrificial woman is also for this purpose. For example, if one prays for a beautiful appearance, then the ugly appearance must be denied. That is, they sacrifice ugly women and burn their faces to deny this existence." "What do you mean by filthy purity?" "Yes..." Senior Sister pushed the small glasses on the bridge of her nose with her index finger. "You're right, this is indeed a sign indicating the elements required for sacrifices. It is also an element necessary for the fulfillment of wishes. This should refer to virgins, so the word filth is very contradictory..." The senior sister also had a troubled expression on her face, even she couldn't figure it out. "So, how long do you think this ceremony will last?" "Regarding this, after listening to your description, I also have a guess." Gabrielle left the table, and after a while, she brought a spherical object a circle larger than a human head and placed it on the table. This is a prop to measure and display the trajectory of the stars - the star instrument. "After all, this is a ceremony that requires a large number of sacrifices, so it will definitely be greatly affected by the cycle of the stars. I am afraid that the 'fanatics' perform the ceremony according to the orbit of the stars." The senior sister quietly turned the planetarium, and rolled the parchment on it for comparison.Then her expression became serious. "I heard you say that this ceremony was held in the abandoned church, so I thought of this possibility." Then Gabrielle Haggis unfolded a relatively new piece of parchment. Illuminate it with a candle, and it is a rough map of the surrounding area of ​​the royal capital—— "You know there's been a series of suspicious arson attacks in East End churches?" "Ah... I remember, Meltina seems to have told me about this." "I guess that the 'fanatics' are not only in the abandoned church, they may have held this kind of ceremony in other churches. Although it has not been made public, I heard that some people found that there were traces of the ceremony in the churches that were set on fire—if these If you look at the location of the church that was set on fire and the church of San Bentaruno together..." Gabrielle used a silver coin as a symbol of the church and placed it on the map—— Not quite at first, but gradually it took on the familiar shape Giselle saw. "this is……" "A pentagram with a large span—and with such a large scale, it is more than enough for the upper-level family members to appear." But this pentagram still lacks a corner. "Next time should be the last time..." "Yeah, the incarnation ceremony will also be held at this last corner. According to the orbit of the stellar apparatus, the most suitable position for the orbit of the stars is just after zero o'clock tonight—that is, the time when the meteor shower falls. " "Tonight... But, there is no church in this location..." There is no time now.Giselle kept checking the map. This is the west area of ​​the capital. She has been there many times, but she remembers not seeing the church. "yes……" Gabrielle Haggis also showed a pensive expression, and suddenly she looked at the map. "Ah... yes, I remembered. But, it's not on the ground." Giselle raised her head inexplicably. The white magician pointed at the map and nodded. "The church is underground in the royal capital. It was discovered a few years ago in the shallow layer of the 'Scar of Wisdom', but it is still impossible to know in what era the church worshiped which god. So it was named ' Great Sanctuary of the Forgotten God'—” * It's still afternoon, and the business of "Rainbow Parrot" is booming. In this store where many poets have gathered, it is rare to see various instruments playing in unison, which makes the audience never get tired of hearing it.There is a simple stage in the center, on which not only poets will play, but also dancers will attract everyone's attention during the night show.The waiters in cute uniforms shuttled between the tables non-stop. Some of the guests sitting in the seats came to eat, and some came to enjoy the poet's performance. In short, you can see all kinds of guests. In this lively store, Giselle Anderbourg Kulin is sitting at a table in the corner, and he is exchanging information with Amyra.He first reported on the conclusions of his investigation.It also includes the disappearance of a girl who claims to be the younger sister of Renalia Albert— "Is that so." After hearing the boy's information, Amyra looked at the wood grain on the table and pondered for a moment. "That is to say, as long as we go to the 'Great Church of the Forgotten God' just after zero o'clock, we will be able to meet the 'zealots', right?" "should be." Giselle nodded ambiguously.The girl seemed to be keenly aware of the haze on Giselle's face. "Are you still concerned about the client's affairs?" "Well, yes... By the way, the body just found on the river seems to be the Renalia Albert I was looking for. If this is the case, I have already..." "Yeah, you have no reason to continue to follow this incident." "Well, you are indeed right..." What should I do?What do you want to do?Even I can't figure it out, and now I am hesitant.Facing the confused teenager, Amyra said coldly. "Even if you are deceived by the client, you still have to continue the investigation? This kind of behavior is not profitable at all, isn't it?" "Right……" Seeing that the boy was speechless, Amyra was about to leave. "Thank you for your assistance, you can exit now." The boy's heart could not be calm. It's true that I didn't know Miria's true face. To be precise, I was deceived, so I received a huge psychological shock.Moreover, Renalia Albert is very likely to be dead, and I have no reason to continue to pursue it.But, even so, I still want to explore, is the little girl who called herself Miria Albert sincerely resisting the injustice?Is it true that you entrusted yourself to look for your sister's sincere confession and expression, and the action of lowering your eyes sadly when you were called a degenerate? Moreover, this is his first job as an adventurer.I can't helplessly watch everything as I did back then—— If I just let it go, I feel that I will really accomplish nothing—— "etc!" The boy stopped Amyra who was about to leave. "I, can't quit now. And I haven't heard the information you got. Come on, you have to tell me, so it's only fair." The girl turned her head to meet the boy's stalking eyes. “你还不明白吗？对手可是恶魔崇拜者，你连自保都不一定办得到——” “我……当然明白。” 吉赛尔承受着她的视线说道，少女轻轻地叹了口气，再次坐了下来。 “刚碰到你的时候我就在想了，你真的是个做事不经大脑的老好人。'金狮子亭'的事情我也听说了。听说一个学院的魔术师庇护了前去委托的半妖，还跟'鬼斧'加德尔夫抬杠。” 连这都知道了，吉赛尔吓了一跳。加德尔夫应该是说那位巨汉吧。 “听说你还和'苍天'夏琳打了一架。” “那个，是啊……完全被她玩弄啊。你知道她？” “当然。'苍天'夏琳，只论战斗的话，就算在'金狮子亭'她也是数一数二的佼佼者。据说她原本是帝国的龙骑士，就连那个樱子也打不过她。” "This, this way..." 看来自己好像进行了一场无谋的较量。 吉赛尔为了岔开话题，清了清嗓子。 “总、总之，我觉得我的委托人可能有一些难言之隐。至少那个孩子是真的在担心蕾娜莉亚·艾伯特的。看上去她真的就是以一位妹妹的身份在担心行踪不明的姐姐。我不想擅自认定她的这份心情是伪装的。” “既然你这么说，那就随你便好了。” 艾米拉抬起头梳理着长发，然后看着吉赛尔继续说道。 “那我就告诉你我获得的情报吧。首先是关于'至公之宠'——” 艾米拉开始报告自己的情报。 首先她尝试通过情报商来推断援助“至公之宠”的人物和团体。根据情报商提供的情报，发现了贝伦多夫家、欧姆斯德家、歌摩林商会、艾利欧特商会这几个赫赫有名的贵族和商会。 “就调查的结果看来，'至公之宠'这个组织本身好像并没有在暗中参与什么可疑的事件。恐怕'狂热者'的真面目只不过是援助者中的一人罢了，他只是恰巧利用了这个团体的名号。” “不过，贵族啊。梅尔蒂娜说过，感觉就是有钱人的施舍……” “是啊。特别是在王都，这些贵妇人很流行从事慈善事业。” 应该说，这个行为正是菲·利高洁的年轻公主所倡导的，因此人们自然趋之若鹜。上层的人们将其当作兴趣倾注心力，下面的人自然会争相模仿，这种心理也不是不能理解。 “对了，在我调查'至公之宠'的过程中还碰到你妹妹了。” “梅尔蒂娜？” “她说——为了帮不成器的哥哥一把，我也会尽可能收集'至公之宠'的情报的……” "what……" 竟然擅自做这种事，希望她别勉强—— Thinking of this- “她是个，为哥哥着想的好妹妹。” 如此低吟的少女脸上透露着些许羡慕，同时还掺杂着几分寂寞。 “恩，是啊……”吉赛尔撇了撇嘴。“但是，怎么说呢，梅尔蒂娜确实很可靠，是个很能干的妹妹。艾米呢？你没有兄弟吗？” 听到他这么问，艾米拉垂下了双眼。 “我，没有家人。” “这是，什么意思——” 少年继续追问，少女却摇了摇头拒绝回答。 少女的黑发也像窗帘一样跟着晃动。 她没有回应。艾米拉避开吉赛尔的视线继续说道。 “继续说我的情报吧。” “啊，好的……” 少女再次开始描述自己调查的经过。 虽然查明了几位援助者的名字，但这样还无法判断谁就是“狂热者”。这时艾米拉想到了断足乞丐说过的话。于是她前去调查是否有贵族或者商会曾经接触过“灰之旅团”。这时一个名字浮出水面—— “就是歌摩林商会。好像就是这个商会雇佣了因为失业从南部流浪而来的旅团。” 理所当然，艾米拉接下来就调查了歌摩林商会。她通过几个情报商和有过接触的诗人，了解到了一些事实。 歌摩林商会主要负责大批量的物资流通，商会代表詹姆斯·歌摩林活用自己打通的人脉来扩大规模。他不仅创造了优秀的业绩，据说十五年前，身为野心家的詹姆斯意气风发，当时甚至还一度在上层社交界占有一席之地。 “也就是所谓的暴发户。毕竟歌摩林家本身的历史好像并不算长。好像他的祖先一直都在煤矿都市奥尔瓦做生意，从来没有人来过菲·利。因为詹姆斯是一位十足的野心家，所以从他这一代开始商会才迅速扩张。然后十五年前，他总算迎娶了一位贵族的千金进门。据说那位千金叫萝拉·贾维斯特，好像是男爵家的四女，所以也不会赐予他爵位，不过这样已经足够与贵族家攀上关系了，他也能以此巩固自己的地位——事情本该如此的。” “本该如此……？” “产下长女之后，萝拉就立刻撒手人寰。而且还有一些可疑的传闻说萝拉是自杀的。不过我不清楚接下来要说的是不是和这次事件有关。如果说'狂热者'就是詹姆斯·歌摩林的话，那么他可能打算通过恶魔术复活妻子，所以我也以此继续调查了，但是……” “告诉我吧，是不是……有什么奇怪的地方？” 艾米拉点了点头继续说道。 关于萝拉·贾维斯特的暴毙可以说是众说纷纭。根据歌摩林家的佣人传出的谣言来看，据说是自杀。菲·利的贵族几乎都是虔诚的圣十字教徒，而自杀是圣十字教严令禁止的。贾维斯特家却顶住压力，并没有将歌摩林夫人的死因公开。但是，防人之口甚于防川。更何况佣人那么多更是如此。结果街头巷尾还是有传闻说歌摩林夫人是因为精神崩溃发狂而死的。当然这其中也有对暴发户嗤之以鼻的贵族以及商业对手的情报操作使然，不过真正诱发人们的好奇心的，果然还是促使歌摩林夫人发狂致死的理由—— “至于那个理由——据说她的女儿是堕转者。” 闻言，吉赛尔倒抽一口气。 堕转者—— 从广义上来讲，这是指人类的孩子被妖魔带走之后，替换成了鬼童的意思。思想陈腐或者是居住农村的人都是这么认为的。 但是现代学者则将人类无故生出半妖的现象称之为堕转者。 原因至今不明。据说有些学者认为祖先中含有异种族血统的人可能会突然孕育堕落者。另外一些学者则认为，如果孕妇接触堕落者的话可能会让胎儿受到感染堕落成半妖。 总之，只要双亲都是人类，一旦他们生下了带有半妖特征的堕落者，那么就将其称为堕转者。 “因为自己的孩子是堕落者，所以萝拉的精神失常最终去世。因为生下了堕落者，歌摩林家也因此背上污名从上流社会除名了。接着就一路没落了。后来连生意上都一蹶不振，被后起之秀艾利欧特商会大举反超。” 总觉得自己的大脑现在已经一片混沌了。 吉赛尔等到艾米拉全部说完，才静静地询问。 “那个，堕落者女孩的名字……你打听到了吗？” “不，我并没打听到名字。据说贾维斯特家还是非常关心这位外孙女的，不过詹姆斯却主动和贾维斯特家绝交了，还把女儿一直关在宅邸里，几乎不让她出门。” 感觉艾米拉的声音在不断远去。 脖子上流下了令人不快的汗水。 吉赛尔不断思考，感到有些头晕。感觉如今正身处混沌之中，他忍耐着俨然已经失控的思绪奔流。在这湍流的思考漩涡中不断地闪过各种片段。贾维斯特、白绢、母亲的遗物、LG……联想还在继续。吟游诗人的装束，洗衣工，蕾娜莉亚·艾伯特、吟游诗人、乐器指导……至公、平等、不公、外型、外貌、雕塑……外型！但是拼图还缺一块。缺少的那块拼图，到底是什么？继续思考，吉赛尔。思考才是真正的魔杖。祭品、条件、否定。对，就是否定。吉赛尔想起了否定的内容…… “我无法理解萝拉的心理。”艾米拉还在继续说。“她可是母亲啊……竟然因为自己的女儿是堕落者去寻死。太不可思议了。就算外型有所不同，魂魄也并不污秽啊——” 污秽？污秽。污秽！ 污秽的纯洁！ “艾米……你最初调查的名叫凯蒂的少女也是半妖吗？” 自己为什么没有注意到如此单纯的事情呢！自己也太无能了吧！ 到现在还感到自己的身上在不断冒出不快的汗水。自己还必须继续思考，因为已经犯下非常重大的失误了。而且还非常危险…… “是啊，我没说过吗……？” “污秽的纯洁——祭品的条件就是半妖少女。” 吉赛尔苦涩地说道。 “狂热者”想要烧掉的并不是头部，也不是脸部。“狂热者”想要否定的是——耳朵。也就是长久以来象征着森妖精以及妖魔的尖锐耳朵。通过烧毁耳朵来否定其存在。这样就能祈愿转变为不同的形态了。“至公之宠”是面向社会弱势群体的援助团体。不止是孤儿院和流浪汉，他们还会为半妖这样的堕落者提供工作。而且出卖肉体的半妖不在少数，准确来说处女反而非常稀有。“至公之宠”可以轻易地通过旁敲侧击来筛选目标。他们会问是不是有婚约，是不是有帮助自己的恋人，甚至可以假意提供这类工作，来询问对方是否有经验——？ “吉赛尔，你怎么了，脸色有点——” “喂，吉赛尔。” 突然——有人插嘴了，这将少年的意识从混沌中拉了回来。 是一位认识的黑发吟游诗人，他露出亲切的笑容站在面前。吉赛尔呆滞地抬头看着他。 “你知道梅尔蒂娜在哪吗？她应该有工作的预订的，不过刚才和一个祭司打扮的男人一起走了，到现在都没回来。真让人意外，她可从来没有翘过班啊——” 吉赛尔站了起来。 “柯基特——”少年以要扑倒吟游诗人的阵势问道。“你最后看到我妹妹的时候，她和那家伙去哪了？” “喂喂，你怎么了？我只看到他们去了聊天室，不过现在已经不在——” 吉赛尔踢开椅子飞奔出去。 This is it!这就是自己所感到的危险！ 为什么自己会没想到这种可能性！ 吉赛尔穿过骚乱的餐桌，冲进了舞台的边门。 吉赛尔掀开一扇又一扇隔间，不在，不在，不在。 哪里都找不到。 吉赛尔还在继续奔跑。 他推开后门，冲到了狭窄的小巷里。 然后看到了，落在地上的东西。 那是水粉色的披肩。 这块披肩孤零零地掉在地上。 吉赛尔呆然地捡了起来。 "No way..." “吉赛尔……！” 突然，一只手抓住了差点冲出去的少年。 回头一看，那个人是一脸吃惊的艾米拉。 “你突然怎么了——” “你还不明白吗！”少年喊道。“祭品的条件！” 艾米拉有些不可思议地扬起眉毛。 “你不是说了吗，是半妖……” "so……" 吉赛尔痛苦地喘息着说道。 “我的妹妹……梅尔蒂娜，她就是半妖——”